DURING a Cebu City Council session on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, it was revealed that an organization named Participative Association of Sugbo Vendors Inc. (Pasvi) is managing the Colon Night Market. The admission confirmed suspicions from Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr. that the market was allowed to operate without the legally required approval from the Garbo Asenso Sumbanan Alyansa sa Gugma (Gasa) Board, the City’s official body for regulating vendors.
GASA BOARD’S PURPOSE. The Gasa Board is a special body created by the Cebu City Government with the specific mandate to organize and regulate vendor operations, including seasonal events like the night market. Its purpose is to ensure fairness, transparency and order in stall allocations while enforcing safety and sanitation standards.
However, City Administrator Albert Tan admitted that Mayor Nestor Archival has not convened the board, creating a regulatory vacuum. This lack of action from the executive branch led other city offices to step in and grant permits based on a road closure resolution, effectively bypassing the established process.
CONFLICTING VIEWS. Different players offer conflicting views on how the night market was approved and is being run.
Alcover has argued that the operation is illegal, insisting that while a resolution closed Colon St. to traffic, it did not automatically authorize a night market. That authority, he maintains, must come from Gasa and be endorsed by the council. He has labeled the current setup a “black market” due to its unregulated nature and lack of accountability.
City officials, on the other hand, defend their actions as a workaround. Tan said his office simply supported a resolution endorsed by the mayor’s office by providing police and sanitation services. The Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) collected P281,500 in special permit fees from 100 stalls but acknowledged that this is not its usual role. BPLO officer-in-charge Jared Limquiaco explained his office acted because Gasa was dormant.
Meanwhile, the Office of Muslim Affairs and Indigenous Cultural Communities distanced itself from managing the event. Its head, Jeannet Cortes, clarified that her office only certified applicants but did not handle operations or collect fees, identifying Pasvi as the lead organizer. This was confirmed by a representative from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, who said Pasvi directly approached the mayor’s office for permission.
WHAT’S AT STAKE. The controversy highlights questions about accountability. Without Gasa’s oversight, there is no clear authority responsible for what happens at the night market, from fee collection to public safety. Alcover questioned who would be held liable in case of incidents like food poisoning.
The issue also touches on fairness, as local vendors have complained that outsiders were prioritized for stalls. At the center of the dispute is the alleged collection of a P6,000 monthly rental fee, with no clarity on who is collecting the money and where it is going, as city officials deny knowledge of it.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW YET. Several key questions remain unanswered. The most significant is the identity of the person or group collecting the reported P6,000 monthly stall fees and the whereabouts of these funds. It is also unclear whether Pasvi, an unaccredited body, will face sanctions for bypassing the Gasa Board. Finally, it remains to be seen if the controversy will prompt the mayor to finally convene the Gasa Board to properly regulate this and future vendor activities.
WHAT’S NEXT. Alcover has demanded that Pasvi submit a complete list of stall owners, with their addresses and voter registration details, to verify if they are legitimate Cebu City residents and rightful beneficiaries. While the night market continues to operate, its long-term future is uncertain until the City Government resolves the fundamental questions of who has the authority to run it and who should regulate it. / CAV